Month: October 2011

Don't you just hate them? I mean, really? Who do they think they are anyway? We have all been there when someone pushes themselves to the front of what is happening and declares to everyone else, "I can do it … Read more

"I didn't climb the corporate ladder as quickly as I wanted." "I am not able to have children." "My family isn't as close as I wanted them to be." "My job isn't as prestigious as my friend's." "My car isn't … Read more

On the beautiful, green, grassy slopes outside Jerusalem, an unexpected sight popped up before me and touched my heart with a thrill of joy. Riding a tourist bus on a trip to Israel, I was keeping vigilant watch for things … Read more

Perhaps H. was thinking that there was lots more room in the bin, so it can wait. At times, anger would lift its ugly head in the conversation. How many of us have had a similar conversation before the garbage … Read more

Like everyone else on this planet, I am a sinner in need of saving. I try to be a good person, but usually there are moments each day when I succumb to temptation. Perhaps someone else upsets me, or there … Read more

As I write this, the rain is coming down in torrents. The question is whether there will be water in our basement again. When we retired nine years ago, my husband renovated my parents' cottage and turned it into our … Read more

I was busy working about the kitchen when I noticed Henry, one of our pet gerbils, sitting atop a stool next to the counter. A few moments later I heard a splash and then frantic scrabbling. The sound was mystifying. … Read more

A recent series of severe storms left our backyard and green areas littered with debris that had been torn from two very large poplar trees. There are large pieces of broken limbs many feet in length, small twigs just a … Read more

Just a few months after my arrival at my first posting on a native reservation out on the prairies of Canada in 1987, I was informed that I was to lead the three nights' wake service of a young man … Read more

"A holy kind of discontent seems to be fertile ground for God's prophets." – William H. Willimon Discontent can be a destructive energy that harms physically, emotionally, and relationally. It may be a symptom of ingratitude or an inability to … Read more